Portugal raises death toll back to 62

Portuguese Interior Minister Constanca Urbano de Sousa said the death toll in a forest fire had risen to 62 by the end of Sunday. She said firefighters were still working on all four fronts of the fire.

Authorities had previously lowered the number of victims, saying that one body had been counted for twice, but the minister later confirmed that the official toll returned to 62.

Urbano de Sousa also said the country's judicial police was expecting to complete the identification of all bodies soon in order to release them as early as possible.

Authorities were overwhelmed with food and water donations for those affected and the emergency services working in the areas near Pedrogao Grande, in central Portugal.

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8:50 p.m.

Portugal's president says the country's pain "knows no end" as it mourns at least 61 people killed in the deadliest wildfire in memory.

President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa says in a televised address to the nation that "it is a time of pain but also ... a time to carry on the fight" against the flames. Almost 24 hours after Saturday night's deaths, the blaze was still raging across the forested hills of central Portugal.

In his broadcast Sunday, the head of state offered the emergency services his "endless thanks" for tackling the blaze and helping to rescue people in the fire's path.

Almost 900 firefighters were still battling the flames around Pedrogao Grande, a town 150 kilometers (95 miles) northeast of Lisbon.

Three other major fires in the region are also causing concern, with five villages evacuated.